ATHERTON, Calif. - An 11-year journey reached a pinnacle when Union sports information director Jay Stancil received the 2010 Clarence "Ike" Pearson Award at the annual NAIA-SIDA Convention.

"Words can not express how humble and grateful I am to be receiving this award," Stancil said at the luncheon held Saturday on the campus of Menlo (Calif.) College. "To be listed among all the great SIDs who've previously received this award is very humbling."

Stancil is the 34th recipient of the Clarence "Ike" Pearson Award, which was first given out in 1977.

Since August of 1999, Stancil has served at Union. Some of his additional duties have included serving as Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) liaison, assisting with athletic fundraising efforts and overseeing athletic archives and photography. He is an active member of NAIA-SIDA and CoSIDA. In that time span, he has received 45 various NAIA-SIDA publication awards, including three first-place awards and two College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) writing awards.

When the NAIA had regional formats, Stancil was the Region XII Information Director (2005-08) and chaired the Region XII Player of the Week Committee. He is currently on the national Player of the Week Voting Committee and was a member of the statistical crew for the 2006-07 Football National Championship games in Hardin County, Tenn. He has been the Media Coordinator for various conference and regional events including AAC soccer, basketball and baseball tournaments as well as regional men's soccer and baseball championships.

Stancil is currently the First Vice President of the NAIA-SIDA Board. He has served seven consecutive years on the NAIA-SIDA Publications Committee. He has volunteered his services on various NAIA-SIDA workshop panels to help educate and improve the Sports Information profession.

Most recently, he was named the sports information director for the AAC.

"There are so many people to thank, especially at Union," Stancil said. "I am very appreciative of the support I receive at Union from the administration on down. I am convinced I have the best athletic director in the NAIA in Darin Wilson as well as the best coaching staff in the country. I could not do what I do without their help and support.

"I really have to thank my family as well. My mom and dad, they allowed to me to pursue my dreams and granted me the freedom to do what I want to do.

"My kids, Jayson and Haylee, are kind enough to share me with the Bulldogs. They bring such joy to my life are a consistent reminder of the important things in life.

"Last and certainly not least, I have to thank my wife, Genople," Stancil concluded. "She is amazing. She does all she can to allow me to do the job I love. She runs our home and takes care of everything, all the while excelling in her own profession. This award is not my award. This is her award. I could not have achieved this without her, and I thank her for that."

NAIA-SIDA is the professional association for sports information directors with the NAIA. The Clarence "Ike" Pearson Award is the association's highest honor and recognizes its honoree for accomplishments and service performed over a career. Criteria for nomination include at least five years as a member of NAIA-SIDA and outstanding service to the profession and the NAIA at the conference and national levels.